City Counselling

On Monday, Auckland Council representatives delivered the council's submission on the Treaty Principles Bill to the justice select committee. In the submissions, Auckland Council rejected the Treaty Principles Bill as unworkable, saying there was a lack of good faith engagement with Māori, and that the bill would create legal uncertainty and damage the council’s relationship with Māori.

Additionally, over the weekend several Pride events saw intrusive protests by the 'Man Up' group linked to Destiny Church. Around 50 protestors stormed the Te Atatū library during a family-friendly Auckland Pride event where a drag king was reading to children about the science behind rainbows. Library staff were physically and verbally attacked and the around 30 attendees of the event were barricaded in a room in fear of their safety. This also came after Destiny Church members were seen disrupting the Pride Parade on Ponsonby Road on Saturday. 

For City Counselling this week, Sofia spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about both of these topics, starting by asking what Auckland Council’s stance is on the Treaty Principles Bill.

Two years ago this week, severe flash flooding occurred across Tāmaki Makaurau, causing widespread destruction and damage across the city. 

Producer Sofia caught up with Councillor Julie Fairey about Council’s recovery progress two years on, and about the work that is still being done.

As part of its submission on a Local Government New Zealand issues paper exploring electoral reform, Auckland Council has expressed its support for a four-year electoral term. 

In exploring local government reform, the LGNZ paper also looks at public understanding of local government, public awareness of candidates and policies, and voting methods for local elections, raising questions about who’s responsible for improving these areas and what the future of local government voting might look like. 

For the first interview of 2025, producer Sofia spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about Council’s LGNZ submission as well as Council’s general plans for 2025. 

For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about changes to Auckland Transport’s responsibilities, nationwide bus and train fare hikes, and concerns over the opening of the City Rail Link.